(Thanks to Mark Johnson for sending this to me.)

I think the main reason is that he always stood at the top of the "food chain" - so to speak. He always saw the music business as a venture in which he stood as an entreprenour - not as an employee - making his own decisions and taking risks that would not be allowed in a corporate environment.

He did not have an infinite amount of people to answer to should his venture eventually fail ... This is vey much at odds with the scouting department that exist nowadays as part of an organized and oiled piece of machinery that is a record label. There is very little opportunity there to sign someone based on a gut feeling and there is little support for the circumstances that lead a record not to sell as well as it was predicted to.

This is probably why in the last couple of years independent labels have flourished and developed more than they have ever done in the previous state of "closed media". Digital distribution and social networks allowed the music entrepreneur to do without the big bucks required for mainstream promotion and - with a small capital - start up a business relying on digital communications, just as Blackwell did back in the day.

This is something that has already been dissected and commented upon in the past four years but only now i think the phenomenon of digital distribution has extended to a degree in which it can provide sustainable living and reasonable exposure to acts off the major's radar. While some argue that this started with bands like the Artic Monkeys I reply saying that yes - they developed a good following through myspace and yes - they got signed because of that following but they still needed the major interest to become huge. Now it would be feasible for a band to become commercially successful with a small development team. The problem is that most acts that reach the amount of hype needed for this to happen choose to sign with a label to avoid taking that chance. I'm not saying they should and i'm not saying that signing with a major is not better for their chances - see probability - of reaching mainstream, but it woud be fun to see someone taking that chance and making it outright, i mean massively.

la canción empieza en el segundo 45

The Security Dimensions of Environmental Policy

Canadian defence policy changes along with climate in the suddenly accessible Far North

by Alec Crawford

On April 13, a patrol of Canadian Rangers arrived at Eureka, a remote weather station in the southwest part of Ellesmere Island.

For more than two weeks the patrol had been trekking across Canada’s northern archipelago as part of Operation Nunalivut (”this land is ours”), a now-yearly exercise carried out by the Canadian Forces to assert the country’s sovereignty in the High Arctic.

A month later, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of National Defence Peter McKay unveiled the latest iteration of the Canada First Defence Strategy.

The war in Afghanistan remains the focus. But the defence strategy also underlined a commitment to augmenting the Canadian Forces’ capacity to “protect Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and security.”

While this hearkens back to the country’s more traditional security concerns, it has been brought about by a very new security threat: that of climate change.

Arctic temperatures have been rising at almost twice the global average over the past 100 years, reducing sea ice by 2.7 per cent per decade. Under some scenarios, Arctic late-summer sea ice is projected to disappear almost entirely by the latter part of the 21st century.

With climate change increasing access to the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, lucrative fisheries will develop as the ice recedes and cold-water fish move north.

The exploitation of the area’s mineral deposits will become more cost-effective, and the region’s vast oil and gas resources — which are believed to account for one-quarter of the world’s undiscovered reserves — will ironically become more accessible due to climate change.

A well-publicized scramble for these resources is already underway, with Canada, Russia, the United States, Denmark and Norway all staking competing claims.

Russia has claimed rights over nearly half of the Arctic, and in August 2007 famously used a submarine to plant its flag on the seabed of the North Pole — a move described by a U.S. state department official as an unacceptable land-grab. Such tensions and disagreements are becoming more commonplace. According to the New York Times, “Claims of expanded territory are being pursued the world over, but the Arctic Ocean is where experts foresee the most conflict.”

Control of the Arctic’s natural resources depends to a large extent on the 1994 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which set out legal controls for marine natural resources and pollution.

The convention established the right to a maritime border that encloses an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles from the coast. Countries can also apply to extend their maritime sovereignty beyond the 200-mile limit if the edge of the continental shelf extends further.

Canada ratified the treaty in 2003, and in 2006 launched an ambitious mapping exercise to define its maritime border as far as possible across the continental shelf.

The scope is enormous; the extended shelf of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans alone is roughly the combined size of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Along with new access to rich natural resources, the Northwest Passage could become a commercially viable navigation channel within the next 20 years.

Successive Canadian governments have argued that the Northwest Passage is Canadian territory, and in the interest of North American security (and the environment) Canada should control traffic in the passage, as opposed to allowing unfettered access.

The government’s position stands in contrast to that of other maritime countries. The United States, for example, believes the Northwest Passage should be open to international traffic, and that vessels need not obtain consent from Canada before travelling through the strait; acceptance of Canadian sovereignty over the strait could set a dangerous precedent for other, equally strategic waterways such as those in the South China Sea.

To back up its stake, the Canadian government is investing heavily in equipment and staff to bolster its presence in the region. It has committed to building six to eight navy patrol ships to guard the Northwest Passage, and in August 2007 the Prime Minister announced plans to build two military bases in the region: an army training centre for 100 troops in Resolute Bay, and a deep-water port at Nanisivik on Baffin Island.

When the patrols of Operation Nunalivut set out in late March for their trek across Canada’s Arctic, the team was not strictly made up of military personnel.

While primarily a display of Canadian military presence in the region, this year’s operation carried with it a scientific team assessing the characteristics and stability of the ice shelves on Northern Ellesmere Island - indicative of the close linkages between security and the environment in the region.

It is clear that the environment and its management can no longer be viewed as a “soft” policy area - it can also have real security implications. The Arctic is changing, and Canadian security policy is changing with it.

To quote Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier, “As long as it’s ice, nobody cares except us, because we hunt and fish and travel on that ice. However, the minute it starts to thaw and becomes water, then the whole world is interested.”

Alec Crawford is co-author of Change and the New Security Agenda: Implications for Canada’s security and environment, a report prepared for the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development.

© Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2008

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,372542,00.html

"It seems unimaginable, but it is possible that for the first time in recorded history the North Pole will be free of ice this summer, according to a published report Friday.

If predictions hold true, the situation presents a "unique" prospect of sailing in open waters at the North Pole before the region begins to cool in September."

So in fact, as far as the Marxists who run the Liberal policy machine are concerned Russia does not need force to stake its claims:

http://www.military.com/news/article/russia-bolsters-arctic-claims-with-war-games.html

Besides, all any foreigner has to do is threaten to call us rude names and to refuse to be our friends and it seems to me that every liberal in the country staring with Barrack Hussein Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid, will come crying home to Karl Marx that their intentions have been misunderstood and their feelings hurt.

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.611657&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Time provides a ridiculously easy to understand assessment on whether more drilling will mean cheaper gas

Citing safety concerns, and improper conduct, regulation has been proposed in order to prohibit the unsafe practices and unapproved activities.

Authorities have reported in the past that sledding in improper areas has been a problem and is being monitored.

Problems include traversal of unapproved areas, safety concerns, reckless operation of vehicles, pollution of pristine wilderness areas, garbage left, alcoholic impairment, and noise complaints.

There is now a push for Legislation which would regulate and limit sledding and snowmobiling off-trail and off-road and in unapproved areas.

The issue will be brought up to Members of Parliament and provincial legislators in order to review possible regulation.

Group has been exposed not following proper safety practices. Disregard for safety is one of the major causes of accidents, leading to possible injury. Lapses in proper gear, equipment, and poor judgement have been reported.

Involvement of persons under the influence of alcohol endangering the safety of other individuals has also been reported.

Following a month of anarchy and infighting in the Antarctic between the Gentoo species of Penguins and the Emperor Penguins over remarks made during a photo op with Jessica Alba, the Gentoo population is prepared to back Barack Obama in the November Presidential Election.

Throngs of Gentoo Penguins protested outside Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station earlier in May, calling for the dismissal of Progressive Penguin Coalition Spokespenguin Spheniscidae, whose recent remarks about Gentoo Penguins inflamed a community already angry about past disparaging remarks and being given a diminished role at a Jessica Alba for President endorsement event.

Pygoscelis, a Gentoo attending the rally, was furious by remarks made at an event meant to demonstrate penguin unity and support for Jessica Alba, a possible Democratic Candidate for president.

“Spheniscidae may be an Emperor Penguin, but he is the king of all assholes as far as I’m concerned. He dissed us right in front of Jessica Alba. That prick. We Gentoo are really pissed off right now. We are about to go all gangsta on his Emperor ass.” Pyoscelis said at the time.

"The results are in and the people have spoken" Pysocelis said today. "While we of the Gentoo community strongly supported Jessica Alba, we accept Barack Obama is clearly the presumptive nominee, and we are ready to go balls out to see him get elected".

Tensions have eased in the Antartica since near riots broke out following Spheniscidae made his remarks, but the Emperor penguin has tried to make inroads and steps towards healing he rift. "Look, I am an Emperor Penguin. When you are born into my particular genus, you inherit a certain sense of superiority. But Al Gore pointed out to me that all Penguins need to be united and lead the fight in global warming. Just the other day I waddled over to Pysocelis' nest and offered him some extra fish I had caught  during my day's hunt. We talked for a few moments and I offered my sincere apologies. We even managed to commiserate about sharing the incubation duties with our wives, which cuts into our swimming time and sliding down the ice on our bellies. We even shared our pain of our brothers being captured and sent to zoos in North America to be gawked at by throngs of tourists in flowered shirts. It turns out we have a lot in common. He even invited me to the next Gentoo swim meet and molting festival. I am looking forward to it."

The Progressive Penguin Coalition seems to have grown in force since the hostilities between the Gentoo and Emperor Penguins have subsided. At last nights meeting following the South Dakota and Montana Primary results, the penguins, while disappointed that Jessica Alba will not be the presidential nominee, spoke optimistically that Obama will address their issues and hopefully campaign in Antarctica. "We are fired up and ready to go" Pysocelis said, echoing the campaign cry of the Obama camp. "We identify with Obama, we are half black and half white, just like him. We are read to go all out to get the vote out for him. Gentoo, Emperor, King, Penguins all, we are united. That's what's important. And everybody loves penguins. Why do you think "Happy Feet" did so well at the box office. We're a force to be reckoned with."

Neither Pysocelis nor Spheniscidae seemed to express concern that Antarctica does not have any electoral votes and at press time, Penguins do not have the right to vote in American elections. "We've come a long way since April, and we are not about to stop now" said Spheniscidae. "Penguins will have their voice heard in this election and we will be a force to be reckoned with. We have a point of view, and people will have to step up and take notice. Come November, we will be kicking ass and taking names. Yeah, we are cute and amusing, but we will kick the ass of anyone who stands in our way". "Word up on that shit. We can go gangsta on yo azz if you fuck with us" concurred Pysocelis. A rally of endorsement for Obama will be held as soon as it can be coordinated with the campaign.

[e360] New scientific evidence suggests that we have already passed a dangerous threshold for the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – and that the time for taking bold action is slipping away.

by bill mckibben

As the Bush administration starts to pass from the scene and the contenders to succeed him speak with reasonable seriousness about carbon, the question for environmentalists is going to change from: “Are we doing anything about global warming?” to “Are we doing anything near enough about global warming?” Both of those are political questions — but the second one is also a scientific query, for the answer to it depends on knowing how much we need to do.

The shorthand answer to that (and the one number you need to know to understand the 21st century) is: 350, as in 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The longer answer goes like this. Twenty years ago, when we started worrying about what we then called the greenhouse effect, we had only the crudest notion of how much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was too much. The biggest debates were about whether global warming was real, and whether or not it had already begun. It didn’t take too long — half a decade — for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to say yes to both. But the subtler questions — How immediate a problem is this? Where do the thresholds lie? — were much harder.